“The garden never got planted,” Williams said. “Very quickly after the freeze dryer purchase, we started hearing about freeze-dried candy and it sounded really strange.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“We made the mistake of putting skittles in the machine and they were delicious when they came out,” she said.
Williams and her husband, Arlis, decided to make a bunch of freeze-dried candy and sell it at the Yellow Springs Farmers Market.
“We did that one time and it just shocked us the amount of candy that we sold,” Williams said.
After operating a booth at Traders World in Lebanon for two years, they now have candy stores inside The Mall at Fairfield Commons and The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek.
Toff’s Sugar Shop relocates at The Greene
Toff’s Sugar Shop originally opened at The Greene in the summer of 2024.
“There’s a chocolatier, but there’s no candy store here,” Williams said. “We wanted to expand and decided to give it a shot.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The candy store recently moved to the former space of Windsor — in between CLB XXIII and Books & Co.
Customers can expect a variety of freeze-dried candy, regular and bulk candy, novelty and nostalgic treats, international candy, trending TikTok goodies, a sugar-free section and much more.
This location features an ice cream and “toffogato” counter with nine flavors of hand-scooped Hershey’s Ice Cream, ice cream sundaes, ice cream sandwiches with fresh baked cookies, floats, dirty sodas and affogatos.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
A favorite is the “Dirty Harry” featuring A&W Root Beer with a splash of butterscotch syrup and vanilla creamer topped with whipped cream.
In the future, they plan to add snacks such as popcorn, soft pretzels and hot dogs. They also are adding “dirty energy drinks” to the menu.
Collaborating with local sweet makers
Toff’s Sugar Shop partners with cottage bakers such as Sweet Tooth by Erin to offer unique products like candied fruit and loaf pan cakes.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The Greene location hopes to launch “Sweet Startups,” an initiative to support young, local sweet makers.
“What we want is to (welcome) high school or college (students) that are into baking,” Williams said. “I think it would be a blast to bring a teenager in or young adult and teach them what it’s like to run your own business.”
They have room for four individuals.
A viral candy section with Dubai chocolate-inspired items
When asked how they decide on what viral candy trends they offer in store, Williams said she has to think about whether or not they can physically make it, the logistics on how she can get the ingredients, and the profit margin it can be sold for.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“There are certain influencers that you know when they’re starting to talk about a product that you better start listening,” Williams said. “I watch TikTok every night looking for the next hot item.”
Toff’s Sugar Shop offers viral items such as sour blue raspberry gushers, nerd cluster bowls, pickle kits, Dubai chocolate bars and, most recently, strawberry Dubai cups.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“That’s kind of our little niche that we try to do,” Williams said.
The strawberry Dubai cups feature layers of chocolate sauce, crispy kataifi mixed with pistachio cream and fresh cut strawberries.
She is proud of the quality of their Dubai chocolate bars. Each one is 12 oz. and uses imported ingredients. Customers can choose from milk or dark chocolate with pistachio, cookie butter, brownie or cotton candy filling.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
A demand for freeze-dried candy
The Mall at Fairfield Commons location has the same offerings as The Greene store besides the ice cream and “toffogato” counter.
Toff’s Sugar Shop started at a kiosk near the main entrance in 2022 before moving to a temporary spot downstairs, across from H&M.
At that time, they couldn’t keep freeze-dried candy in stock because of the demand.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Williams thinks people loved the freeze-dried candy because of the texture/crunch as well as the taste. During the freeze drying process, all the water has been drawn out of the candy, so the flavors are much bolder.
“The demand has slowed down and, honestly, I’m okay with it,” Williams said. “When we moved into the store downstairs, we kind of started trying to diversify ourselves a little bit.”
Toff’s Sugar Shop has been located upstairs at the mall, between Cinnabon and JD Sports, for over a year.
Meet the owners
Williams and her husband are from the Dayton region. They lived in Beavercreek for almost 20 years before moving to Yellow Springs about five years ago.
Prior to starting The Ohio Freeze Factory, they were both retired.
Williams worked for a government contractor and Arlis is former military with 35 years of civil service.
“I was an office manager, and probably the most fun part of my job was arranging the company gatherings. I would cook for them,” Williams said. “I like to cook, but I’ve never had a job in food.”
The couple has 10 employees that help them with the two stores.
“They’re awesome. They seem as excited as we are about the different offerings we have,” Williams said.
At the end of the day, their favorite part of owning Toff’s Sugar Shop is the customers.
“They’re happy to be here,” Williams said. “That’s what keeps me going. It makes me feel so good that I was able to put something out there for them to get that excited about.”
MORE DETAILS
If a customer can not find a specific candy they are looking for at Toff’s Sugar Shop, Williams said to let them know. She will typically buy the candy and add it to the “you asked for it” section at The Mall at Fairfield Commons location.
For more information, visit theohiofreezefactory.com or the candy store’s Facebook or Instagram pages (@ToffsSugarShop).
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